What happens when the emotional, hormonal, and cultural shifts of perimenopause intersect with the daily realities of motherhood? In this episode, I’m joined by Dr Cristina Cavezza - clinical psychologist, certified Motherhood Studies practitioner, and mother of twins - for a powerful conversation on the complexities of midlife mothering.
Cristina shares her clinical and lived experience of working with mothers during the menopausal transition, exploring how body image, eating habits, and emotional wellbeing are shaped by both personal history and broader systems of power. We talk about the role of objectification theory, the impact of internalised shame and societal shoulds, and the importance of approaching our inner worlds with compassion and curiosity.
Cristina brings a trauma-informed, feminist lens to her work - blending schema therapy, EMDR, and therapeutic re-parenting to support women in understanding their emotional needs and reclaiming a more connected relationship with food, their bodies, and themselves.
She also offers a beautiful reminder about the importance of play - not just for our children, but for us too.
CONNECT WITH DR. CRISTINA CAVEZZA
📍 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr_cristina_cavezza/?hl=en
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61573518659491
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-cristina-cavezza-222441209/
All content for The Good Enough Mother is the property of Dr Sophie Brock and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
What happens when the emotional, hormonal, and cultural shifts of perimenopause intersect with the daily realities of motherhood? In this episode, I’m joined by Dr Cristina Cavezza - clinical psychologist, certified Motherhood Studies practitioner, and mother of twins - for a powerful conversation on the complexities of midlife mothering.
Cristina shares her clinical and lived experience of working with mothers during the menopausal transition, exploring how body image, eating habits, and emotional wellbeing are shaped by both personal history and broader systems of power. We talk about the role of objectification theory, the impact of internalised shame and societal shoulds, and the importance of approaching our inner worlds with compassion and curiosity.
Cristina brings a trauma-informed, feminist lens to her work - blending schema therapy, EMDR, and therapeutic re-parenting to support women in understanding their emotional needs and reclaiming a more connected relationship with food, their bodies, and themselves.
She also offers a beautiful reminder about the importance of play - not just for our children, but for us too.
CONNECT WITH DR. CRISTINA CAVEZZA
📍 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr_cristina_cavezza/?hl=en
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61573518659491
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-cristina-cavezza-222441209/
120. In Conversation with Prof Andrea O’Reilly: The Revolutionary Emergence of Motherhood Studies
The Good Enough Mother
43 minutes 19 seconds
6 months ago
120. In Conversation with Prof Andrea O’Reilly: The Revolutionary Emergence of Motherhood Studies
Join us for a groundbreaking conversation with Professor Andrea O'Reilly, the internationally renowned pioneer who founded the field of Motherhood Studies. In this powerful episode, Dr O'Reilly shares her 40-year journey from questioning motherhood's absence in Women's Studies as a pregnant undergraduate to establishing an entire academic discipline dedicated to mothers' experiences. She discusses the creation of the Journal of the Motherhood Initiative, Demeter Press (which has published nearly 200 titles), and concepts like "Mother Outlaws" and Matricentric Feminism. Key themes explored include the difference between patriarchal motherhood and empowered mothering, the ongoing struggle for legitimacy in academia, raising "outlaw children" against patriarchal norms, the vital importance of community for resistant mothers, and her vision for making mothers "the before thought, not the afterthought." Andrea reflects on the costs and joys of feminist mothering, the need for a mother-centered lens in all disciplines, and why mothers need their own feminism. This episode is essential listening for anyone interested in understanding how motherhood shapes our world and how we can create more supportive spaces for all mothers.
Demeter Press Website: https://demeterpress.org/
In (M)otherwords (Prof O’Reilly’s essays) book: https://demeterpress.org/books/motherwords
The Mother Wave collection: https://demeterpress.org/books/the-mother-wave
Journal of the Motherhood Initiative, open access: https://jarm.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/jarm
For those inspired to dive deeper into this field, you can be trained in the sociology of motherhood through the Motherhood Studies Certification. The next wave of this certification has been directly inspired by my chapter in "The Mother Wave" book, helping to contribute to Dr O'Reilly's ground-breaking work, and turning Motherhood Studies concepts into practical application for professionals working with mothers - https://drsophiebrock.com/motherhoodstudies
Listen to free training on The Missing Piece in Mother-Care Work here: https://motherhoodstudies.newzenler.com/courses/the-missing-piece-in-mother-care-work/buy?coupon=missingpiecefree
The Good Enough Mother
What happens when the emotional, hormonal, and cultural shifts of perimenopause intersect with the daily realities of motherhood? In this episode, I’m joined by Dr Cristina Cavezza - clinical psychologist, certified Motherhood Studies practitioner, and mother of twins - for a powerful conversation on the complexities of midlife mothering.
Cristina shares her clinical and lived experience of working with mothers during the menopausal transition, exploring how body image, eating habits, and emotional wellbeing are shaped by both personal history and broader systems of power. We talk about the role of objectification theory, the impact of internalised shame and societal shoulds, and the importance of approaching our inner worlds with compassion and curiosity.
Cristina brings a trauma-informed, feminist lens to her work - blending schema therapy, EMDR, and therapeutic re-parenting to support women in understanding their emotional needs and reclaiming a more connected relationship with food, their bodies, and themselves.
She also offers a beautiful reminder about the importance of play - not just for our children, but for us too.
CONNECT WITH DR. CRISTINA CAVEZZA
📍 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr_cristina_cavezza/?hl=en
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61573518659491
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-cristina-cavezza-222441209/
